The autumn wind suddenly rose, howling menacingly. A lightning bolt as thick as two thumbs split the night sky with a "crack", illuminating the streets and houses brightly for a moment. Soon after, raindrops started to fall with a "patter".
Whether it was the Yu'an Prince's Mansion, which had just brought back the witness, the Shen Family, which was itching to take action, or the Luo Family, whose members were so enraged by Su Xin's bold act of "divorcing her husband" that they had splitting headaches, it was destined to be a sleepless night for all...
Early the next morning, the news that the girl from the Su Family had come to the Luo Family to divorce her husband spread like wildfire.
Some said that the girl from the Su Family was acting wildly and disregarding ethics...
Some said that the entire Luo Family was mean and had forced their daughter - in - law into a corner, leaving her with no choice but to take such a drastic measure...
There were also those who were just watching the show, curious to see how the two families would resolve the situation in the end.
While the outside world's discussions were mostly about the love affairs between the young people, the ministers in the court had already been arguing for quite some time about the cases of Yan Yifan and Shen Bianhuai.
"Your Majesty,"
Yi Yuan stood upright in front of the main hall, his voice as clear as the clinking of jade, enunciating each word precisely:
"Now that both the witness and the evidence are in place, neither Yan Yifan nor Shen Bianhuai can refute the charges."
"Nearly eight hundred thousand taels of silver! That's not just embezzled military pay. It's the hard - earned blood and sweat of the people of the Great Yin Dynasty, and the lives of my elder brother and thousands of soldiers in the army!"
"And they!"
Yi Yuan struggled to suppress his extreme anger. His well - defined hand pointed forcefully at Shen Bianhuai and Yan Yifan, who were kneeling one after another behind him:
"For their own selfish desires, they ignored the law and persecuted the people, leaving the soldiers in the army hungry and unable to fight! The brave young men who were supposed to defend the country were sacrificed under the enemy's swords just because of a lack of food. They almost gave away the territory of the Great Yin Dynasty!"
"Their crimes are so heinous that even death cannot atone for them!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Yan Yifan, dressed only in his inner robe, looked panicked as he said:
"The Prince of Yu'an is spouting nonsense and slandering me, Your Majesty. Please don't believe his one - sided words, Your Majesty.
I've never seen that ledger. All the accounts and transactions on it are completely fabricated. I've never even met those troublesome commoners. I swear on my life that I've never done anything like building mansions by force or abducting civilian girls! Please, Your Majesty, discern the truth!"
Shen Bianhuai, who was kneeling a bit further forward than Yan Yifan, also said:
"Your Majesty, since I entered the court, I've been deeply favored by Your Majesty. I may have some deficiencies in ability or be lax in disciplining my subordinates. But I've never done anything to betray my conscience, and I would never dare to disgrace the Shen Family or let Your Majesty down.
Please, Your Majesty, investigate thoroughly and clear my name!"
His words were very convincing and extremely sincere.
The ministers from the Shen Family's faction immediately stepped forward to chime in, and a heated argument broke out between them and Yi Yuan's side.
Emperor Zhaohuan's face was as cold as ice. He flipped through the ledger in his hand again and threw it forward heavily, scolding:
"All of you, shut up!"
The arguing court officials immediately fell silent.
"The evidence is all here. What else is there to argue about! Prime Minister, Lord Shen..."
Emperor Zhaohuan looked at Shen Liangji and Shen Zhai with a half - smile:
"Regarding Shen Bianhuai's matter, do you two, as his uncle and grandfather, know anything about it?"
"Your Majesty, I really don't know. Your Majesty also knows that I've had bad luck with my descendants. My eldest son was about to take on important responsibilities when he contracted an incurable disease. My second son has been living in our hometown since childhood due to his health problems and only returned to the capital in the past two years.
I've spent all my spare time on my two children. I wish I could split myself into two. I really have no energy to pay attention to other things."
Shen Liangji stepped out of the queue nervously and immediately bowed.
Shen Zhai was much calmer. He stepped out of the queue unhurriedly and said:
"Your Majesty, although I'm getting old and not as sharp - eyed and sharp - eared as before, I still know a thing or two about Bianhuai's words and deeds. Although he's not very promising, he would never dare to do such evil things. Now, although all the witnesses and evidence seem to be conclusive, they were all found by the Prince of Yu'an.
We can't verify if there are any mistakes or biases. This matter is of great importance. I think we should first let the Three Judicial Departments investigate and then make a decision. If there really is such a disgraceful descendant in the Shen Family, Your Majesty need not worry. I will surely clean up the family myself!"
Rather than directly denying any connection, these half - admitting and half - denying words were actually more convincing.
"Your Majesty—"
Some court officials wanted to argue, but Emperor Zhaohuan waved his hand to stop them:
"Now that the two sides are in a deadlock and we can't tell who is right or wrong, then all of them will be detained in the Supreme Court for trial. This case will be handled by Wu Xianrui, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and supervised by the Supervision Institute under the Censorate. All members of the Shen Family are confined to their homes. No one is allowed to leave or enter without permission until this matter is thoroughly investigated. Xie Huaiyue..."
"I'm here, Your Majesty."
Xie Huaiyue knelt on one knee and saluted.
"Watch them closely. No one is allowed to visit. If there's the slightest mistake, I'll hold you accountable!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor's eyes scanned the court officials below like a sharp knife. Emperor Zhaohuan's voice was as cold as ice:
"Embezzling military pay, endangering the Great Yin Dynasty, and oppressing the people! If there's the slightest oversight in this matter, you can all forget about keeping your positions."
"Court is adjourned!"
At this time, in Zhihong Garden—
"Are you sure?"
Ye Xi suppressed the excitement in her heart and leaned forward slightly to ask.
"Sure."
Yan Xuan replied quickly:
"According to what Steward Chen asked before, there weren't many cloth shops in the capital that sold the lotus - silk plain - cloud satin about thirteen or fourteen years ago. There were about twenty - seven or twenty - eight big families that bought it. But only four noble families were willing to distribute it to their servants as clothing.
I've investigated. Among the four noble families, the only one with a missing nanny surnamed Xi is the Liu Family."
Glancing at Ye Xi cautiously, Yan Xuan hesitated and said:
"However, Nanny Xi in the Liu Family is not of a very high status. She's just a dowry nanny of a wife in the third branch of the Liu Family and doesn't even have the qualification to serve the mistress personally. This point... doesn't seem to fit."
"No, this is exactly right."
Ye Xi smiled:
"I've always felt that something didn't quite add up. A nanny of extremely high status in a noble family is almost considered half a master. Leaving aside her vision and loyalty to her mistress, the fact that she disappeared without causing any commotion is very strange.
Normally, a servant who has served a mistress for a long time, especially in a noble family, is well - known to everyone. It's impossible for her to disappear without a trace. On the contrary, those of medium status, who are not very loyal to their masters and are unknown to outsiders except their own family members, are the easiest to be bribed to do things.
After the deed is done, as long as a good reason is found, not many people will notice if they are silenced."
Sai Xing was extremely happy and was the first to draw the conclusion:
"In this case, it's very likely that the girl is from the Liu Family."
Because of Ye Xi's background, she had been the subject of much gossip from outsiders. Although the situation had improved after the Qingyun Competition, most people still looked down on her. If she were a young lady from the Liu Family, a well - respected and clean - handed family where someone always passed the imperial examinations in each generation, although Ye Xi's status was still a bit lower than Yi Yuan's, they would still be a good match.
However, Ye Xi quickly calmed down and thought to herself:
But why have I never heard that the Liu Family has lost a child in all these years?